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The effect of riparian deforestation on macroinvertebrates associated with submerged woody debris

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Abstract

Riparian deforestation is one of the main causes of change in freshwater ecosystems, resulting in the reduction of biological integrity and the loss of ecosystem functions. Our goal was to understand how a gradient of deforestation may affect abundance and richness of specialist and generalist macroinvertebrates associated with submerged woody debris in Neotropical streams. We conducted an observational study sampling mixed-species woody debris from 16 streams along a deforestation gradient. We also conducted an incubation study with known woody debris species (Cecropia pachystachya Trécul) in six streams. We collected 781 specimens and identified 50 taxa in the observational study, and we found 99 individuals belonging to 17 taxa in incubation study. Results from the two complementary studies indicate that the effect of riparian deforestation was more pronounced for wood specialists than generalists. Deforestation decreased the abundance and richness of wood specialists, and some taxa were locally extinct. The incubation study showed that sedimentation, which leads to the burying of woody debris, is an important process impeding macroinvertebrate colonization. Our study highlights the importance of woody debris as habitat for aquatic communities and as a structural component of streams, with important implications for conservation and biomonitoring. We suggest that wood specialists could be a potential group for use in biomonitoring programs aimed at assessing the impact of deforestation.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Melissa O. Segura, Márcia Spies, Ana E. Siegloch, Susana Trivinho-Strixino, and Luiz Onofre Irineu de Souza (in memory) for their assistance with the identification of the specimens and to Fabio L. Villaverde for his assistance with laboratory procedures. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that improved this manuscript, to Daniel G. da Fonseca and Fabio T.T. Hanashiro for their valuable comments on an early draft of this manuscript and to Tadeu Siqueira for his assistance on statistical analysis. F. Valente-Neto and R. Koroiva received grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Processes Nos. 06/58849-8 and 06/58449-0, respectively). F.O. Roque received a productivity grant from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Process No. 303293/2009-8). The Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo sponsored this study within the scope of the BIOTA-FAPESP Program/Biodiversity Virtual Institute Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, CEP 79070-900, Brazil

    Francisco Valente-Neto & Ricardo Koroiva

  2. Departamento de Hidrobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, CEP 13565-905, Brazil

    Alaíde Aparecida Fonseca-Gessner

  3. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, CEP 79070-900, Brazil

    Fabio de Oliveira Roque

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  1. Francisco Valente-Neto
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  2. Ricardo Koroiva
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Correspondence to Francisco Valente-Neto.

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Valente-Neto, F., Koroiva, R., Fonseca-Gessner, A.A. et al. The effect of riparian deforestation on macroinvertebrates associated with submerged woody debris. Aquat Ecol 49, 115–125 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-015-9510-y

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